NEU tells teachers not to go to work on Monday

[Workyticket]

skwawkbox.org/2021/01/02/breaking-union-tells-teachers-not-to-go-to-work-on-monday/

I am 100% behind teachers as their safety and children's has to come first but this is so unfair on parents who have to work on Monday, it is so late in the day. The notion of online learning sounds ideal but it means unpaid leave for many at the last minute or no education for these children...I fear that will mean my job is on the line after 5 months of it in the summer as well. Great that the unions help teachers but who can help the private sector get the financial assistance they deserve in these situations (my employer refuses furlough as we actually have a job to get done).

@NeverForgetYourDreams

Assume they won't get paid if they don't go into work.....

Not true. They'll get paid because it's a section 44 walkout not a strike.

The unions and teachers should have insisted from the start that all teachers and children wear masks throughout the day for safety of each other. If this had happened some of the issues could have been avoided.

@Flippingnightmare

All the people talking about furlough, LOL furlough is for struggling sectors to retain jobs, not to pay people who can't be arsed to o in.

Can you IMAGINE if doctors and nurses had done this during the first lockdown? At least they have professional integrity.

Yes lets look at what happened when the doctors and nurses complained about lack of PPE.

People got behind them, some just clapped but some (including school and teachers) provided them with the required PPE.

What happens when teachers say the same thing?
We are just told to get on with it.

plane!

norovirus can also be deadly

Compared to covid? Let's see your figures.

@Truelymadlydeeplysomeonesmum my husband used to be an accommodation manager. He oversaw a 12 bed assisted living house for people with chronic mental health issues, who were not ill enough to require hospital, but not well enough to live independently. It was staffed 24/7 and he was responsible for their care, medication, well being etc.

Do they need to walk out then when they can work from home and teach online? Then getting paid for working rather than not

Time to prioritise school staff for the vaccine, which is what some of us have been saying from when the first vaccine was approved. I'd suggest primary school staff first, because younger kids can't socially distance, and secondary school kids can.

I said on another thread a couple of days ago, now you've got the easier-to-administer Oxford vaccine, you just send a team into each school and give everyone a jab.

You'd still need to close the schools for two (or more) weeks to get it done and let the first dose take effect but parents would be able to see light at the end of the tunnel.

I would still like secondaries open for exam years, but that must be minimal risk compared as you'd only have 1/5 or 1/7 of the students in.

I am still not entirely convinced the recent infection rates are down to schools though, they've been closed for 2 weeks so far (minimum).

2/7 not 1/7!

NASUWT here.
Tier 4.
Kids to go back on Tues (primary)
I am due back Wed (secondary, I work part-time)
Was/am expecting to be doing support work/supervising keyworker-vulnerable/being trained how to swab/covering absent colleagues
If unions call for section 44 walkout, is it mandatory?
If teaching staff out, will keyworker pupils and vulnerable be at home?
Won't/Can't schools use supply agencies or will it also be a directive on headteachers too?

I totally agree @FrippEnos. My sister and dad are both HCPs and they do feel safe at work, due to good hospital management and appropriate PPE. What's happening in schools is nothing like it.

Would it be inappropriate to email my DC's school and offer my support for this?

Teachers have been asking for schools to be made safe for months now and they have been ignored. If it results in a mass walk out from school, whose fault is that? The fucking governments! Get angry with them, not the teachers.

With a section 44 walk out what will happen?

NEU teachers or all teachers, will not turn up on first day? I ask as saw that NEU had said kw are ok

I googled section 44 but got libraries walkout in May (didn’t know about that)

@DrRamsesEmerson
FGS. I didn’t think my opinion of the teaching unions could sink further.

Well aren’t you a charmer ...... not🤬

@RMRM

You've already been told it's not a strike and that teachers will be working to provide remote education. You really are a Flipping Nightmare.

They are closing school - regardless if they are uploading a few sheets of paper, or sending log ins for education sites. The knock on effect for that is catastrophic for working out of the house single parents.

I’d be really interested to know the statistics of single parent women who were pushed out of work due school closures, class closures, childcare and nursery closures by the end of this shit show.

@PinkFondantFancy

Are the unions also stating conditions for return to school? What case rate/death rate/alignment of moon and stars is required for 'safe'?

You’ve really got it in for teachers, haven’t you? My colleague, 52, no previous health risks, caught Covid from a pupil a week before Christmas. He died on Boxing Day. But hey, we’re all just bothered about our own selfish lives aren’t we?

Would it be inappropriate to email my DC's school and offer my support for this?

A supportive email would be very much appreciated at our school, not just regarding this issue but for any and all issues over the last few months. We never usually hear positives, people generally don't bother to email unless they're complaining.

Out of interest, if the govt said that all teachers and pupils should wear masks but that if someone tests positive only they go home, would there still be a walk out?

@LaBStar

What a PP said:- What about?

bus drivers, prison officers, supermarket workers, pharmacists, care workers, vets, accommodation managers... all of whom would expect to come in to contact with 30+ people a day

Should all of these people stop work on full pay?

Teachers are key workers.

They need to be there. Perhaps restrictions are necessary. But they are key workers who need to be there. I have no respect for the teachers unions whatsoever anymore.

All of those roles have mitigations in place. The group that concerns me most is supermarket workers as I think mitigations for them are insufficient now that Brits seem to treat a trip to the supermarket as a grand day out. However it's not for me to fight someone else's battle. I tried that on behalf of the NHS in March but have been told by a number of NHS staff on here that I'm a feckless, workshy toad.

Very happy to support others' calls for safer workplaces though. All of us who are taking risks with our health on behalf of those who can stay home deserve thanks and protection.

@Benhew

I am 100% behind teachers as their safety and children's has to come first but this is so unfair on parents who have to work on Monday, it is so late in the day. The notion of online learning sounds ideal but it means unpaid leave for many at the last minute or no education for these children...I fear that will mean my job is on the line after 5 months of it in the summer as well. Great that the unions help teachers but who can help the private sector get the financial assistance they deserve in these situations (my employer refuses furlough as we actually have a job to get done).

Then please, write to your MP. Teachers have been calling for improved safety procedures in school since March. The government has done next to nothing, and continued to trot out the 'schools are safe' line. They deserve to be reading your comments (which are entirely true and valid), not teachers.

@AaronPurr

Would it be inappropriate to email my DC's school and offer my support for this?

A supportive email would be very much appreciated at our school, not just regarding this issue but for any and all issues over the last few months. We never usually hear positives, people generally don't bother to email unless they're complaining.

Thank you. I will then. Wasn't sure if the head would be because she might not want her staff walking out!

@TheLevyEyebrowsFancIub

NASUWT here. Tier 4. Kids to go back on Tues (primary) I am due back Wed (secondary, I work part-time) Was/am expecting to be doing support work/supervising keyworker-vulnerable/being trained how to swab/covering absent colleagues If unions call for section 44 walkout, is it mandatory? If teaching staff out, will keyworker pupils and vulnerable be at home? Won't/Can't schools use supply agencies or will it also be a directive on headteachers too?

They’re not calling for strike action. Why would a supply agency send teachers into schools when all the Unions have deemed them unsafe to work in?

@Ylvamoon
Fine, but PLEASE NOTIFY THE PARENTS!
They can’t notify you as until Monday they won’t know how many staff will be in.

@MarshaBradyo

With a section 44 walk out what will happen?

NEU teachers or all teachers, will not turn up on first day? I ask as saw that NEU had said kw are ok

I googled section 44 but got libraries walkout in May (didn’t know about that)

I’m an ex teacher. I would imagine SLT a will be asking staff to tell them ASAP if they plan to come into school on Monday so they can inform parents.

@LaBStar

Am I allowed to say this?

As a parent, I've met some wonderful secondary school teachers, really inspiring and committed people. But as a "profession" I also think they should get over themselves a bit.

With the arrival of books available to all, once you learn to read and write, unless you're on the path to be doing a Physics PhD, the only real education that is valuable IMO is the personal and spiritual.

Am I allowed to say this?

You’re allowed to say why you like, and people are allowed to say that telling an entire profession to get over themselves is an absolute joke.